Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 14:

In page 10, lines 9 to 11, to delete all words from and including “, and” in line 9 down to and including “true” in line 11.

I am concerned about this stepped approach, as the Minister described it, between reasonable belief and then that a concern or allegation might be substantially true. In explaining this stepped approach the Minister pointed to the British legislation. It is important to say in response to that that organisations such as Transparency International share my concerns in respect of this two-stepped approach. It is potentially confusing. It also leads to a scenario where workers second-guess themselves. All of us know that the experience to date has been one of marked reluctance for whistleblowers to come forward. Recent public controversies reflect the fact that workers in real time and in real terms have faced substantial stress and personal risk in doing just that. It is in the best interests of the regime to ensure that the provisions in the legislation are not misused for vexatious purposes or trivialities, but I am firmly of the view that a position of reasonable belief is a sufficient protection and threshold for any worker to come forward. My amendment No. 14 seeks to ensure that that threshold of reasonable belief - a single standard - is maintained throughout the legislation.

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